Philadelphia

I went to Philadelphia 8/7.  I  posted the pictures on my other blog.  Going home I passed their AMTRAK station and saw all the homeless people sleeping on new benches placed there.  This election in addition to having to choose between a bad candidate and a worse one nobody is mentioning the hungry and the homeless.  As I have mentioned in the past we can't depend on charitable organizations to end this.  As long as we consider this a problem we can profit from the situation will never change.

THE ENIGMATIC STRANGER

I can say with almost certainty that this is the last name change.  

Up until now I tried to use a name to describe what I want to do. Ultimately I went with  a name that described me best.  Still going to touch on elder and homeless issues but I won't limit myself to it.

Today would have been my Dad's 89th birthday.  Dad, you have been gone five years now.  I love you and miss you.  Happy birthday!

JURY DUTY (part 1)

SO let me try to write this out the best way I can.

For years I wanted to serve on a jury. No one I know EVER wanted to be on jury duty.  I was that lone person who wanted to.

Back in early March I actually got a notice to serve.  However, they wanted me to serve on the week of St. Patrick's Day.  I was scheduled to visit my mother that week so I postponed it (and now that I think about it during the past 10 years I was hesitant about during jury duty during the summer months and close to the time I had to visit Florida).  I went online and postponed my service until mid-May.

On May 16th I reported to the new Bronx Criminal Court.  New because when I lived there years ago there were only the  Supreme Court and Family Court buildings.  I have never been picked for a jury.  About four years ago they called, found out where I worked and sent me home.  I expected that this time.

Because I had just gotten back from my bout with cellulitus I wasn't anxious to get selected this time around.  I expected to serve my three days and go home.  On the second day close to 4 PM they called me along with about 50 people to see the judge.  They got us into the courtroom briefly before they sent us home for the day.

Now I knew I would be on a criminal case so when I walked into the courtroom I expected to see the judge, prosecutor, defense attorney and the defendant.  I never expected to see four defendants.

The Judge gave us a description of the case.  She let us know the defendants are being held at Rikers Island and that should not influence us one way or the other.  There were 12 charges.  They were being held in solitary confinement (which once again should not prejudice us) where they set fire in their individual cell.  From there they were moved to a holding cell where there were eight in one cell.  That's when the assault occurred.  They were accused of jumping one inmate, sending him to the hospital.  During the melee the victim got shanked.  So there were 12 charges.  The ones I remember were:

1.  Arson in the second degree (for setting a fire to the building knowing there were others present).
2.  Arson in the fifth degree (setting a fire to property without permission)
3.  I forget this charge.  
4.  Promoting contraband (for the arson
5.  Creating contraband (not originally having it but somehow creating it)
6.  Conspiracy to perform Arson in the second degree.
7.  Assault in the second degree (for intending serious physical injury and causing serious physical injury.
8.  Gang assault (I forget the degree).  This got weird.  For this charge we were to find the defendant guilty if we felt he intended to physically harm the victim but caused serious injury
9.  Another assault charge but for intending physical harm and causing physical harm
10. Another assault charge but for fighting while incarcerated.
11.  I think this was for Conspiracy to commit the assault
12.  Promoting contraband (the weapon used to carve the victim)

As I mentioned I forgot the actual charges for #3, 4 and 11.  It's not going to matter ultimately.

We were then interviewed by the judge, the prosecutors (yes there were two of them) and the defense attorneys (four of them).

What stood out was that the judge was very particular about the jury being able to stay  for the entire duration without worry about pay.  As you know jury duty is mandatory and your job is supposed to allow you to go.  The state pays $40 a day .  Of course in New York City that isn't much.  A week of jury duty will get you $200 .  From my low pay I NET more than twice that.  The COURT was looking for civil service employees where their job would pay their regular salary.  Needless to say I was selected along with five others to come back in two weeks for the start of the trial.

Old Interview

An interview I did for my class years ago

JOURNAL ENTRY #80 Food allergies

As if my ordeal with the hospital wasn't bad enough a friend forwarded me an article from snopes.com.

http://www.snopes.com/kelloggs-peanut-flour-allergies/

It's not a dreadful article , however it does make me more conscious regarding reading labels on food even with brands I am familiar with.  A good read though.

I am connected with one allergy group already.  I am looking to get with a few more.  My motivation:  a morbid fear that I will grow old and senile and not be able to articulate the foods I am allergic to.  Someone at the nursing home or hospital will feed it to me, I will swell up and die a horrible death.

JOURNAL ENTRY #79 Next order of business

I officially changed my doctor today.

The prelude to this cellulitus mess actually started on Tuesday April 5th when it was thought that I had the flu. I went to my primary care doctor across the street from my apartment after I was sent home.  I told the receptionist I had flu like symptoms.  She in turn told me that I couldn't be seen without an appointment and that I would have to go to their Urgent Care facility a few miles away in a few hours.  I didn't have the energy to do this so I went home.  Two days later I found out I had a leg infection and not the flu.

I am a part of the Montefiore Medical group.  Montefiore Hospital has primary care doctors across the street from my residence so I utilize them.    Well, to be honest I utilize them when it is convenient.  I can never seem to make an appointment when I want them so I go to the Urgent Care facility when I need them.  Montefiore Urgent Care is a part of the same network so they can update my records.

Problem is, I also don't really like my primary care physician.  She is a little bossy and to ME seems like she is a pill pusher.  I take medications when necessary.  I prefer vitamins and supplements.  My doctor was ready to toss cholesterol meds at me.  I don't drink or smoke.  Let's try something else.  But she was telling me what she was going to do and not conferring with me.  No good.

So for those two reasons I wanted to leave that facility.  However, I  would prefer to be a part of Montefiore Hospital and their doctors.  The alternative is not great.  I could use Mount Sinai or NY Presbyterian but they are too far.  So I did the next best thing and chose a different doctor from the group.  I hope it works out.  My appointment is June 29th.  They had me for June 22 at 2:00 meaning I would lose an entire day of leave.    Still not cool.  Best I can do..........for now.

JOURNAL ENTRY # 78 Sunday

As promised I spend most of my Sunday with my feet up.  The goal was to elevate my feet to keep the swelling down.  So far it has worked.  I did go across the street to the supermarket  and to the basement to wash some towels but for the most part I stayed in the apartment with the leg up and there has been no swelling.  Still some dry and peeling skin but the swelling I have grown accustomed to seeing these past few weeks isn't there.  I have one quick errand to make tomorrow and I will repeat the process.   Next thing is to adjust the salt in my diet.  I don't use that much of it but it may be  cause for the swelling.

As for today:

1)  Did last minute laundry.
2)  Walked down and UP 15 flights of stairs to and from the basement (actually 16 flights since I live on the 15th floor and had to go to the basement)
3)  Walked to the supermarket which is only a block and a half away.

Very little foot swelling if at all.

Still pissed about the hospital food.

JOURNAL ENTRY #77 Food allergies and the hospital

Yeah I am still pissed off about the food at Jacobi.

In doing a little research I found an interesting article regarding hospitals and how they treat patients with food allergies.  Here is the link to that article

http://www.foodallergy.org/file/hospital-food-training-faan.pdf

Sadly Jacobi did not follow any of these procedures.  It is scary because if I could not speak I would be at the mercy of some clueless staff person to feed me something that could end my life.

The thing a lot of people don't realize about food allergies is that sometimes even the smallest amount of a particular food can kill.  Touching shrimp can cause an allergic reaction.  I once touched peanut butter and got a hive.  People who do not suffer from allergies are often insensitive towards people with allergies.  They tend to not look at the label because it doesn't really concern them.  So it will take a major incident before this changes.

No wonder people smuggle in McDonald's

JOURNAL ENTRY# 76 Learning experiences

I TRY to learn from each of my experiences (as well as others).  And I have always tried to find the bright spot when things go bad.  That silver lining.  My recent hospital stay is nothing different.    My mind is active trying to make sense of it and to make sure it doesn't happen again if I can help it.  At the very least I want to be better prepared for that type of an emergency.

So far my bout with cellulitus is a freak incident that happened.  I have spoken to people who are familiar with it and not everyone had a scratch or cut to attribute the infection to.  My infection MAY be attributed to drying my feet immediately after taking a shower and getting a cut in between my toes.  Just rushing to do something and I neglected drying my feet.  Possibly.

After doing a little research my weight may have played a part in it.  I read that some people are more at risk and the list included diabetics, the elderly, people with damaged immune systems and folks with circulatory issues.    I lost 10-15 pounds while I was at Jacobi Hospital because I couldn't eat the food.  I weighed 275.  I am not saying I will drop to 200, but I will make a conscious effort to get and stay below 250.  My goal is to drop to 225 lbs.   I choose to think that this may have been a way to open my eyes and lose some weight before I hit 300 pounds. So I have started calorie counting.  I am not going to be radical but according to the app I have I am to stay under 2100 calories a day.  Since I have been home I have remained close to that.  Most days I am under the goal.  Most soda I drink now is just seltzer water.  I try to limit my sweet sodas to one can of ginger ale a day.  Yeah I drink an occasional iced tea but I monitor that on the app too.  Once the leg swelling is gone I will be walking a lot more and will work out in the gym since I believe my biggest problem is inactivity.

I am not aware of being diabetic and one doctor alluded to possibly being border line even though the main doctors never spoke about diabetes and it wasn't on my chart and they took enough blood from me.  However I am going to make sure I am not diabetic.

Hopefully I will never go to Jacobi Hospital again.  The doctors and nurses rate high but I can't afford to go someplace where I can die not from any disease but from the food.  My goal is to not go to the hospital at all, but I will make every effort to never go back to Jacobi Hospital again.

Learning experiences.

JOURNAL ENTRY #75 Respect

One thing I am thankful for during my 10 days in the hospital is that the doctors and the nurses were really pleasant.  I can't even count how many there were all together since everyday produced a different person.  I cannot complain one bit about the nursing staff.  I have been in hospitals wheree the staff is snotty but not at Jacobi.  For my part I made sure I think ed people and minded my manners.

I will always complain about the food though.  I could have died.

JOURNAL ENTRY #74

Actually looking to write more.  About what....still unsure.

For now I am still more concerned about my recovery so my focus is off.

Stay tuned

Re-evaluating

Still shifting slightly from my original blog goal.  From time to time there will be focus on elder care and the homeless.    I am still.....messed up help comes with a catch.    I have looked at city agencies that deal with the homeless.  Not very seriously though.  I would not leave my current job unless I thought I could do significant work.  I want to avoid private agencies.

JOURNAL ENTRY #73 HOSPITAL part 3 (getting treated and getting killed slowly)

I ramble in this final part.

I  went to Jacobi Hospital April 8th and was discharged April 18th.  I have mixed emotions regarding this visit.

The doctors and the nurses were very good.  There were some Asian nurses (from Korea I believe) who I couldn't always understand but were very nice.  Doctors are usually brief in their appearances but mine were informative.  I wasn't happy to be staying at Jacobi as long as I was but I understand.
By the third day I was already tired of the IV and being stationary for it though.  All necessary.

What was awful was the food.  I have heard people complain about hospital food before.  I can't say one way or the other about how it tasted because I never got to eat any of it.

I am allergic to nuts, tree nuts and legumes.  For those unfamiliar legumes are beans and peas, specifically.  I told the hospital upon my entry about my food allergies.  When I got my first meal there was no mention of my situation so I mentioned it to the nurses.  They assured e they would tell the dietitians.  Meanwhile I am getting meals garnished with green peas.  Eventually I would see my allergies listed on my menu but the entrees would still have some legume in it.  One day I got tilapia with green peas all over it.  Consequentially I would only eat a fruit or a fruit cocktail because the food either had allergens in it or I was afraid they were mixed in the ingredients.  Some evenings my cousin would visit me and bring me a sandwich from Subway.  Otherwise I would have fruit or a fruit cup everyday.  For almost two weeks.

One day one of the substitute doctors was talking to me about being borderline diabetic.  Granted, I am a big guy.  I wasn't borderline diabetic before this visit.  However, taking about three different antibiotics through IV and eating basically nothing I had questions about being borderline diabetic.  MY thinking was either:
1)  There was an error because I lost significant weight in the hospital due to being malnourished.
2)  Being on three intravenous antibiotics and not eating messed with my blood sugar.

I left the hospital feeling weak due to the forced diet.  On my own I will check on the diabetes but I am still certain it was brought on by the hospital stay.

That is literally the scariest shit.  What if a person comes into the hospital and cannot really do for themselves.  If they have food allergies they can eat something and die in the hospital.  I was stubborn.  I wouldn't trust anything.  I got beef stew which had green peas all in it.

In fairness Jacobi tried to accommodate me.  They offered a sandwich with the meal.  However the sandwich was often warm and I don't eat warm chicken salad.  Or the warm yogurt.  They need food advocates.

I have to harp on the allergy issue.  If I had dementia or other mental issues having that crap on my plate could cause greater issues than I experienced.  I am schooled in the dangers of food allergies.  I lost a considerable amount of weight because I wasn't able to have a balanced diet or even eat.  Being on IV antibiotics and not eating I don't know what damage was done.

Around April 14th the doctors acknowledged that I had a nasty strain of whatever bacteria I came in contact with.  They were concerned about my white blood count going up.  The Infectious Disease doctors concluded I had a nasty strain of the cellulitus bug and that I needed to be on the antibiotics longer.  I think I was on one antibiotic and it was increased to three.  These physicians also concluded that I got to the hospital in time.  I didn't need surgery.   My doctors told me that I was responding to the increased antibiotics and that I should be able to go home the following Monday.

I was nervous.  The lead doctor was off that Sunday (the 17th) and the physician who substituted for her went in a different direction, choosing to feel my undiagnosed borderline diabetes was the culprit.  I thought they were trying to find more reasons to keep me in the hospital.  I was skeptical about leaving the hospital until I actually got discharged the next day.

When I got discharged I got a surprise.  I originally thought I had the flu.  They admitted me for cellulitus.  They treated my celulitus.  They discharged me for Deep Vein Thrombosis.

I got one CAT Scan once midway through my stay.  They said I had no clots.  I asked no questions.  I wanted to leave.  Some people think that you just go to the hospital and stay until you recover.  People forget the "little" things like rent, work, leave from work, bills and even garbage.I was going to pay my rent on April 10th.  Now I have to pay an extra $50 because I am late.  I used a lot of annual (personal) leave from work.  I am concerned about having to return to the hospital because I will have no leave and thus no way to pay any bills.

My post hospital situation has been interesting.  During the last days inside the hospital the skin around my leg became hard.  My leg wasn't in pain but it was stiff.  A little swollen at times.  A few days after getting home the skin started to peel.  The new skin was not irritated, but I am scared to peel anything.  Meanwhile the old skin gets itchy and will rub off.  The leg gets swollen from time to time.  I was told to walk, however, walking or even sitting makes the leg swell with no pain.  If I sit with my leg up there is no or very little swelling.  I have a follow up on Tuesday and I am nervous.

And I need to see my primary doctor.  Actually I need to see a brand new physician.  After trying to see my personal doctor on April 5th and not getting anywhere I need a new doctor.

JOURNAL ENTRY #72 HOSPITAL part 2 The Emergency room

Once I got 911 it was supposed to be smooth sailing.  For the most part it was.  I made sure the door was open and they EMS arrived, took my vitals and got me out the apartment.  I expected to go to the hospital for the flu.  Actually I didn't really know what to expect.  On one hand I THOUGHT I had the flu but on the other hand I couldn't walk.

In the ambulance the workers asked me where I wanted to go.  I told them Montefiore.  After a few minutes I was told they couldn't take me there.  There was some block preventing them from bringing me there.  My other choices were Jacobi Hospital and a few that were more in the South Bronx.  I chose Jacobi.

It's always weird talking about Jacobi Hospital.  My parents met at Jacobi.  My mother worked there.  My father passed away at Jacobi Hospital.  I feel too familiar with this place.  I also heard a few negative things abut Jacobi.  Nonetheless, it beat going to the South Bronx.

In the ER the staff is very professional.  I have absolutely no complaints about the ER stay.  I wasn't in there very long before I was attended to. They got me x-rays and checked on me frequently.   After a few hours I was told I didn't have the flu.  After reviewing my symptoms I had cellulitus.  A skin infection.  Actually the EMS worker said that I might have that.  And since I had no way to get home I was admitted.  I figured a few days of antibiotics through an IV and I should be as good as new.

JOURNAL ENTRY #71 THE HOSPITAL part 1

This entry will be a change.  Then again I did say I was going to change the focus of this blog.  This time around though I am going to write about MY personal visit to the hospital.  To cover it properly as well as to make sure I don't rush  the story I am doing this in parts.  There will be a point to the entry but it will not be apparent in the beginning.  In the meantime this is just a story about MY personal trip to the hospital.

On April 5th 2016 I got up for work the same as I would every morning.  The only difference this day is that it was colder than it had been the past few days so I  put on a winter coat.  That morning was only in the mid  20s.  Significant because I felt cold and I never feel like that.  Except for snow and ice I embrace the winter weather.

I got on the express bus and never felt warm even with the heavy coat on.  I had the chills.  When I got off the bus at abut 8:45 I still felt cold so I went to McDonald's for a hot tea.  In the back of my mind I wondered if I was coming down with something.

I drank the hot tea and it offered little relief.  I warmed up a little.  I took a cab for the remainder of my ride to work.  Halfway there I threw up.  In the cab.  I managed to get the driver to pull over and most of the vomit was out of the taxi.  From there I felt a little better and continued to work.

Once at work I felt just a little better.  I no longer had chills but I still felt sluggish.  I held off from my job and took a walk.  I carried a plastic bag with me in case I had to throw up again and I went to the staircase to clear my head. I walked downstairs to the first floor where the building nurse was located.

I went to the nurse just to check my vitals.  I had a fever (102.9) and I threw up again.  The nurse  gave me some barf bags and a note telling me to leave work and go to either Urgent Care or my primary physician.  I left work around 10:30 to go to my primary doctor who is actually across the street from my apartment.  I was told I had the onset of the flu.

Unfortunately that didn't go as planned.  Upon arriving at my doctor the receptionist told me that I wouldn't be seen and would have to go to the Urgent Care facility which opened about four hours later and was a couple of miles away.  I chose to go upstairs and lay down.  Rest and over-the-counter flu medication should do the trick.

I don't remember a lot of my stay in bed.  I didn't vomit anymore but I was too weak to really do more than drink the Vitamin water and occasionally go to the bathroom.  The next day I didn't feel much better.  In fact I was more achy, particularly my legs.  I attributed this to the flu and thought nothing more about it.  Aches and pains go along with the flu.  The next day (Thursday) it was difficult to walk on my left leg.  This isn't supposed to be normal with influenza.  I could hardly move though.  I had to crawl out of bed...literally and destroy part of my room to get a cane my father had.  Then use that can to walk to the living room to get a wheel chair he had that wasn't used in over eight years.  The pain was that great.  Once I got the chair I called 911 for an ambulance.

FEELING THE BERN

The elections are in November but I am for Bernie Sanders for as long  as he is in the race.

I won't vote for Donald Trump, Marco Rubio or Ted Cruz.

I think Trump is a clown.

I don't trust Ted Cruz or Marco Rubio.

Trump is stirring up a lot of negative emotions with his antics and racially charged rhetoric.  To me he is just a clown who was influenced by World Wrestling Entertainment.  He uses similar tactics and riles people up.  From day one he exploited the fears and concerns of people.  Trump's followers are more dangerous than he is.  He does have points regarding immigration and possible other ideas but his solutions are repugnant.  He is popular because of the outlandish claims plus the fact the republican party has been insignificant for years.  Aside from stalemating the president and kvetching about the Affordable Care Act republicans have been invisible.

BEEN A WHILE

I have been preoccupied.  I expect to go back to writing an entry at least once a month and posting a photo once or twice a month.  There is no real excuse for this.  I actually enjoy being creative.